1 Kings 2


1 Kings 2 is the second chapter of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter belongs to the section focusing on the reign of Solomon over the unified kingdom of Judah and Israel. The focus of this chapter is the reign of David and Solomon, the kings of Israel.

Text

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language and since the 16th century is divided into 53 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis, Aleppo Codex, and Codex Leningradensis.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus. In the middle of chapter 2 in 1 Kings, the Septuagint of Codex Vaticanus has two long additions, called "Additions 1 and 2":

Old Testament references

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Analysis

The first two chapters of the Books of Kings describe the final phase of David's story and the beginning of Solomon's. These chapters are markedly written differently than other biblical and extrabiblical ancient literature.

David's bequest to Solomon (2:1–12)

This section contains the only time in the books of Kings that David spoke directly to Solomon. The parting words are similar to God's words to Joshua after the death of Moses. David first charged Solomon to reign in accordance to the "law of Moses", because everyone in Israel, even the king, should fall under God and his laws. It is followed by David's complaints to the 'wise' Solomon about the 'enemies', which were Joab and Shimei ben Gera and incited him to deal with them, which gave legitimation for the subsequent purges. David also encouraged reward for the old Barzillai. After all the words, David was able to die in peace and buried in the necropolis within the "city of David".

Verse 11

  • "Forty years": according to Thiele's chronology, David died between September 972 BCE and September 971 BCE at the age of 70, so his birth was between September 1042 BCE and September 1041 BCE.

The elimination of Adonijah (2:13–25)

After a while, Adonijah began to 'dig his own grave' by lusting after Abishag the Shunammite, a dangerous move because 'she had, after all, lain in his father's bed', and 2 Samuel 16:20–22 indicate that having a sexual liaison with David's concubines was to legitimize Absalom's claim to the throne. Adonijah correctly recognized the power and influence of Bathsheba as the queen mother. He failed to understand her intentions and character, as she seemed to support Adonijah's petition, yet slipped the phrase 'your brother' to awaken Solomon's fears. Solomon used the opportunity to order Adonijah's execution by the unscrupulous Benaiah.

The elimination of Abiathar (2:26–27)

Solomon did not dare to harm Abiathar, one of David's trusted priests, but he had the authority to relieve the priest of all duties and banish him to Anathoth, a small country town about north of Jerusalem. This is a fulfillment of 1 Samuel 2:27–36. Jeremiah the prophet also came from Anatoth, so could be his descendant. Interestingly, David did not mention Abiathar nor Adonijah in his last words, so the actions against them were solely Solomon's decision. Zadok became the sole high priest after the departure of Abiathar.

The elimination of Joab (2:28–35)

Joab realized the direction of the purge, so he took refuge in the Tabernacle. Solomon used Joab's word "I will die here" as a request that the king would gladly grant with the addition of justifying words of Joab's past sins, so Benaiah, under the explicit order of the king, could execute Joab at the altar. For his loyal service, Benaiah was appointed to Joab's post as army chief.

The elimination of Shimei (2:36–46)

Solomon plays a cruel game with Shimei, who had done unpleasant things to David, but later received David's personal promise of safety. The king placed Shimei under housearrest, and would only be executed if he left his house with the addition of a seemingly reasonable requirement "not crossing the Wadi Kidron" on the east of Jerusalem. However, when Shimei eventually left his house to Gath, west of Jerusalem, the leaving of the house was the ground for his execution by Benaiah. The outcome of the actions in this chapter is that the kingdom was then firmly in Solomon's hands.